A shipping pallet is a well known load-bearing, moveable platform whereon articles are placed for shipment. The pallet usually is loaded with a multiplicity of items, such as cartons or boxes. The loaded pallet is movable with either a pallet truck or a forklift.
The adoption of International Standardized Phytosanitary Monitoring (ISPM)-15 for wood packaging material (WPM) requires kiln dry treatment of all wood used in shipping crates and dunnage platforms (pallets). The United States in cooperation with Mexico and Canada began enforcement of the ISPM 15 standard on Sep. 16, 2005. The North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) strategy for enhanced enforcement will be conducted in three phases. Phase 1, Sep. 16, 2005 through Jan. 31, 2006, call for the implementation of an informed compliance via account managers and notices posted in connection with cargo that contains noncompliant WPM. Phase 2, Feb. 1, 2006 through Jul. 4, 2006, calls for rejection of violative crates and pallets through re-exportation from North America. Informed compliance via account managers and notices posted in cargo with other types of non-compliant WPM continues to remain enforce. Phase 3, Jul. 5, 2006, involves full enforcement on all articles of regulated WPM entering North America. Non-compliant regulated WPM will not be allowed to enter the United States. The adoption of ISPM-15 reflects the growing concern among nations about wood shipping products enabling the importation of wood-boring insects, including the Asian Long horned Beetle, the Asian Cerambycid Beetle, the Pine Wood Nematode, the Pine Wilt Nematode and the Anoplophora Glapripwnnis.
Thus the wooden dunnage platform has become unattractive for the international shipment of products. Further, the wooden surface is not sanitary since it potentially can harbor in addition to insects, mould and bacteria. Thus, the wooden crate is generally ill-suited for the shipment of foodstuffs and other produce requiring sanitary conditions. In addition, with the concern for carbon emission, lighter weight platforms and containers are more desirable.
Plastic dunnage platforms or pallets are known, see U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,089 to Nania, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,608 to Woods et al., which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Thermoplastic molded dunnage platforms are known, see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,786,992, 7,128,797, 7,927,677, 7,611,596, 7,923,087, 8,142,589, 8,163,363 and 7,544,262, to Dummett, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses applying thermoplastic sheets to a preformed rigid structure for manufacturing dunnage platforms.
While the plastic surface of the plastic pallet obviates some of the sanitary problems encountered with wood pallets, because of the required repetitive use, the surface can become unsanitary. Thus, when used for the shipment of foodstuffs, drugs, pharmaceuticals, electronic parts and other products requiring sanitary conditions, the plastic pallet may require that the plastic surface be cleaned and kept clean prior to use. Also, for most pallets, any bonding imperfections, either between the thermoplastic cover and the core, or the thermoplastic cover and thermoplastic cover, may lead to places where moisture, dirt, left over products, and microbes that thrive on either moisture, dirt or left over products may hide, grow and/or accumulate. These areas are usually hidden and are also more difficult to dry or clean than exposed surfaces.